#❛ marlene mckinnon ❜ [ opposite; redemptioninterlude ]

[pcrfectstorms]

CLOSED STARTER for @redemptioninterlude feat. remus & marlene

it was only a study session, and it wasn't as if he hadn't studied with marlene before, they were friends, and sure usually with more than just marlene, but it wasn't a big deal, and he tries not to get to transfixed on the suffix of study date...remus didn't date for one, the complexities of potentially hurting or worse, people he cared about was already far too consuming enough. and for two, it wasn't like that, in fact he's sure marlene is more interested in his roomie than him.

he's awkward, more so than usual while trying to play it cool and calm, mumbled apologies about the mess in his dorm like he hadn't spend the last twenty minutes panic tidying and shoving everything that could possibly fit into his wardrobe and hoping it stays closed. "oh uh, i got snacks! me and sirius sneaked off to hogsmeade after class, i always get hungry when i study..." he trails off fishing out the chocolate frogs and selection of other sweets he'd acquired earlier and spilling the goods in a pile on his bed.

"got your favourite...weirdo" he adds playfully, smiling soft at her, tongue poking out between teeth, pointing to the coffee chocolate, face screwing up at the thought of the flavour combo, definitely not his first choice. coffee belonged in a cup as far as remus is concerned.

[pcrfectstorms]

redemptioninterlude asked: [ STRADDLE ] ― my muse sits down in your muses’ lap. ( marlene @ max )

[ MEME TAG || From: @redemptioninterlude ]

College was filled with new experiences, new people, far away from the cursed little town she'd spend the last six years fighting for her life in. The gates were closed for good, for the last and final time, the world didn't end three years ago, El swears it up and down, no more bad things, but still even the smallest thing, a light flickering in the hallway, running up that hill blasting on a radio, the ringing of a clock bell, can set it all off and for a split second she's back there. Max swears her classmates must think she's fucking crazy, well, almost all of them. All except Marlene, who might just be as weird as she is, with her adorable English accent that had taken Max most of the first semester of college to figure out what she was talking about half of the time.

Marlene who's in her dorm room right now insisting they go to this dumb Christmas party, "I dunno - I'm gonna look dumb." she groans, head shaking as Marlene empties out a makeup bag bigger than Max's book bag onto her bed, picking up what looks like some kind of medieval torture device, eyes wide examining it, "okay FINE you can put eyeliner on me but if you even try and come at me with this THING I will not be held responsible for my actions dude!" no bite in her words, laughter bubbling as she shakes her head, teeth sinking into her lower lip watching Marlene, yeah, Max is sure this silly little crush was going nowhere anytime soon, dammit Mayfield.

Flopping back on the mattress in surrender, not expecting for Marlene to straddle her hips, eyeliner in hand, and for a second Max thinks she's going to fucking pass out, hot girl on top of her, hot girl leaning in all smiles and laughter, stay still Marlene breezes like it's the most casual thing in the world for her MASSIVE GIRL CRUSH to be straddling her hips like it was nothing. Which, it was right? Like, she was just doing her make up, they were just friends, but holy shit did Max was to kiss her right now. Pulse racing, brain short-circuiting like crazy, "are you uh - done?" she asks pupils blown, pushing herself up on the elbows, Marlene still so fucking close she's sure she can hear her heart racing like she'd just run a fucking marathon.

[pcrfectstorms]

remus snorts, laughter quiet and he nods, as good as he was at charms, even evans had him beat at that one, little genius she was. "yeah, fair, evans takes top spot there, pretty close second though." he adds, that boyish grin creeping on the corners of his mouth, eyes quickly cast downwards as to not stare too long at marlene. you look pretty tonight, you always look pretty. might be something sirius, or james would say, always bolder than he when it came to the fairer sex. instead he just quietly thinks it, she looked different with her hair down, the way it framed her face beautifully, god lupin get a grip, he chastes himself internally.

he shrugs, reaching out for a chocolate flog and ripping it open, biting the head off first, " yeah? good to know you got my back mckinnon." heat warming his cheeks, "gotta get at least a exceeds this term or my mum might ship me off to muggle school next term." he's joking, of course, his mother was the softer of the two when it came to his parents. he sighs dramatically, eyes rolling, when she decalres no more distractions, and he knows she's right, he was studious in other subjects, but when it came to history of magic he couldn't help but find himself wanting to nod off. "weren't he the one that looked like a great bloody troll? -- lived up to that name alright." remus chuckles, before opening up his textbook to the relevant chaper. "where's mary tonight?" he asks casually, the two girls usually not seen without the other, a bit like him and the other marauders he supposes. package deal, if you will.

there's that bend, a briefer hint of a smile ; marlene was more ideal then she was real. she knows it. so much of how she chose to hold herself was armed with a certain kind of intent, even though she liked to FEIGN both calm and cool. as if she were above it all, despite how frantically untrue it was. marlene simply knew how to glue up her seams and get down to the brass tacks of things, and nothing much more. at least that pure blood in her veins had taught her the benefit of how to knuckle past your own feelings and anxieties. glancing upwards to catch him staring, that slow draw of a grin and the laugh that never really comes, glancing back to the pages and pages she sorts through, a sort of mad professor within the centre of her divine circle. "charms unfortunately goes to lily every time. even i have enough grace when to admit i need to take a bow. but i will give you credit... you're rather decent at charms."

"well isn't that sweet... in both tenses. if you got an outstanding, by the way, just tell them i tutored you and you'll be fine." a flicker of her gaze finds his, pinning him into place. that slighter crease of a frown, now, as if sorting through the fears that held themselves hostage within his head, circling round. nothing to do, it seemed, with the help, but rather... ah. she bends and simply hands him a sheet, marked up and down with colours and swirling, scrawling notes. "i'll tell her THANK YOU. and you. bribery or not." there's a wave, the parchment crinkling. "but no more distraction. we'll start here. the thrilling years of andor the grotesque."

- @pcrfectstorms

[pcrfectstorms]

remus watches her carefully examine the sweet treats, of course he couldn't take FULL credit for knowing her favourites, that took a little help from lily, who seemed to know everything there was to know about everyone. something remus took little notice of for the most part but he was trying to keep marlene sweet, after all she was his only hope it not TOTALLY failing history of magic, which was nothing short of a snoozefest as far as remus was concerned. he snorts laughing, "charms ain't so bad, 'least i'm actually good at that --" remus always found the more practical subject more appealing, less reading, less jumbled words on a page to contend with, perhaps if his parents had been less concerned with finding a cure for his afflication they'd have paid more attention and noticed he struggled in other areas too.

"i wouldn't call it bribery exactly...more like a thank you, or something... maybe just a little bit of bribery." nose scrunching, his cheeks tinged every so slighly pink, "think if i got an outstanding i'd be frog marched up to dumbledore's office for cheating --" he scoffs, ever the self deprecating humour covering up the real insecurities that he doesn't address. he holds his hands out palm first, grinning, "okay you got me, i might have had help with the sweets, lils mentioned you like them coffee ones." that slight pink blush turning even redder now he'd been caught out. // @redemptioninterlude

marlene stomps through the gryffindor common room, as if she belonged here. it ought to be a problem, really, but people knew well enough that she all too often was the one called to action to decidedly UNSCREW somebody body a wretched nosedive in their grades. was it really any surprise that she ends up outside of remus lupin's rooms as she pulled out her books to spread along the floor, notes organized into neat little piles as he seemed ready for business.

"you got what?" there's that pause and a laugh, marlene reaching out to EXAMINE his little stock pile of treats and goodies. her nose crinkles, letting that be something new about remus she could tuck away within her chest, that good boy gone sweet seeming to perennially define him. "figures that's where the two of you went. i'd say you missed a riveting class for our final charms class, but then that'd make a liar out of the both of us, wouldn't it?" she wasn't like lily, accounting for the comings, goings - she just noticed. the two of them generating a sizable amount of noise, regardless, so it'd be almost impossible not to recognize their absence. ( right? )

in front of her, he pours out what she had to admit was something she didn't expect him to remember. these were more of a lily evans special, the sort of thing that she'd bring back for her from over the holidays, the sort of exchanges made over the departure platform at the train station. "wow, i really am getting the full extend of your BRIBERY SCHEME right now, aren't i? i already said i'd help, but now i'm feeling like i owe you. is this your way of telling me you're aiming for an outstanding?" now she's just teasing him, imagining even he would find it pure torture to grind it out with her. ah well~ "who told you i loved these. emmeline? lils? rotten little eggs, those two."

- @pcrfectstorms